


All The Pretty Lies

by sinisterside



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Death, Domestic Violence, Double Agents, Drinking, Espionage, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Rough Sex, Smoking, Triple Agent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 10:53:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15683970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinisterside/pseuds/sinisterside
Summary: “One may outwit another, but not all the others.”― François de La RochefoucauldHe hadn't planned for this life, but it was his now. His mission was simple and direct, seek out the enemy, destroy the enemy, until two women destroyed the notion of simplicity.





	All The Pretty Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! First off, I don't own anything except the random characters I come up with, otherwise it all belongs to the fabulous J.K. Rowling. It's been sometime since I've written anything and I'm rusty, so bare with me! This is going to be a longer fic and it may take me time to update as I'm trying to catch up on other works I have going on. As always any constructive criticism is appreciated!
> 
> (In the awesome banner from finxter365 at TDA is from left to right is Astoria, Draco, Hermione, Daphne, and Theodore!)

[](https://imgur.com/ptSBSji)  
Credit for the lovely banner goes to finxter365 over at The Dark Arts!

            The rat scurried across the old wooden planks, its fur matted and missing in spots. Its little, pink nose sniffed the ground, hoping to pick up some small hope of a crumb or morsel. A squeal erupted as a well-polished shoe kicked at it. The rat ran a few feet away before looking back at the aggressor, his eyes twitching nervously. There were other sounds of life abounding in the old, abandoned cottage. The sound of little, clawed feet on the roof, and the subtle noise of creatures scooting around the floor. If you had asked Draco Malfoy three years ago if he would have been standing in a place like this, doing the job he was, he would have laughed in your face and invited you for a stay in St. Mungo’s “special ward.” Yet, he here was in this dilapidated shack, because whatever former charm it held, was no more.

                He swiped at the spider that had attempted to crawl up his slacks. Its eight legs speedily carried it away from this rude intruder. Draco glanced out the window, that had no glass, so really the hole in the wall, and scanned the outside. The woods were thick, and the fields were retaking what was theirs. Wild, thorny bushes grew only slightly shorter than him, and thistles abounded everywhere. The only thing missing from this creepy location was a graveyard. Draco imagined if he bothered to look he would probably find one of those too, everything was out here. Well, almost everything. The contact he was supposed to have met an hour ago had still not shown. It was not only an annoyance to be unpunctual, but the annoyance quickly grew into concern. What if something had gone wrong or he had been found out?

                Life hadn’t just changed for the Malfoys after the war, it had been uprooted and left in pieces. They were luckier than many, but there had still been a price to pay for their choices in the war. His parents had avoided their fortunes being seized or a life of hell incarcerated in Azkaban due to his mother’s actions during the Battle of Hogwarts and his father’s compliance with information regarding escaped supporters of the Dark Lord. That should have been enough, but it wasn’t. As always the sins of the father are visited upon the child. Draco had been approached by members of the Auror department, obviously not to become an Auror, but to help with threats from dark wizards throughout the wizarding world. It had not been presented as a request but as a polite demand, one Draco dared not refuse for fear his family would have suffered. He was not the only one, Theodore Nott also worked through them; sometimes they worked in tandem on the same missions. The last two years had been spent in espionage, seeking out, befriending, and betraying those throughout the world that posed a threat to the “justice and peace” of The Ministry of Magic. It was a job he despised, one he was not compensated for, except in terms of keeping his family from falling into the disgraceful state many others had.

                Events had unfolded in the last month that had sent the Ministry on edge. There had been a plot uncovered to assassinate the current Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. It was foiled, but it had become apparent to the Ministry that there were internal threats rising once more in their “utopia.” Draco wasn’t surprised in the least. The year following the war had been spent passing legislation in the Wizengamot that not only punished those who had supported the Dark Lord in any regards, but also their heirs. Families lost possessions, fortunes, and even freedom itself. That most precious ideal that their side claimed to cherish, they vehemently ripped it from the grasp of those deemed “seditious or treasonous.” It didn’t just affect those on the wrong side of ideology, but even those that spoke out against some of the legislation were blacklisted, by their own no less. Yes, nothing brews revolutionary thought like the heel of tyranny. The Ministry was fast becoming the very force it had once fought so passionately against.

                And that was why Draco Malfoy stood alone in the woods in a shitty shack. He had been sent to make contact with those believed to be a part of the unfolding coup, learn their plans, their names, and those backing them. Then, he would lead them straight into the justice of the Ministry, like cattle to slaughter. He held a distaste for this mission in particular. Perhaps it was just his mind and soul tiring of the constant lies he lived or maybe it was because he knew in his heart that there would be people whom he cared for involved in this. It was a thought that turned his insides, and made his throat close up. It made no difference though, because at the end of it all, he was looking out for the only thing that mattered, the Malfoy family. Anyone who threatened that, would be eliminated, no matter his personal feelings.

                A call of an owl pulled his mind from less pleasant thoughts and back into the moment. It came again, the same distinct call, low but in a rhythmic beat. His hand slipped inside his black robes, his fingers closing around a small, flat glass object. He briefly flashed the mirror against the sunlight three times, then flashed it again. The call went silent, and Draco eased into the dark corner of the room by the fireplace, waiting with unease. Less than a minute had passed by; a slender figure appeared in the doorway, ducking down to avoid the frame that had partially collapsed from above. The figure stepped forward, a blue hood cloaking their face. The soft voice that came out took Draco aback, his face showing obvious surprise at the woman who spoke.

“Draco Malfoy.”

“D-Daphne Greengrass?”

He stuttered over the name for a moment, his mind still wrapping around the idea that she was involved in any of this. She had always seemed far too prim, too proper, to sully her herself with such ill-reputed undertakings.

“Fancy seeing you here?” her eyebrow was raised as she looked about the room. Her eyes flicked back to his face, her gaze penetrating his. She felt suddenly uneasy about being here. The Malfoys had managed to remain almost unscathed in the wake of the wizarding world’s wrath, yet they had been some of the most ardent proponents of the Dark Lord.

She made a small step towards him, her wand tightly gripped inside the sleeves of her long robe. “Let’s get to the point shall we?”

“Why exactly are you even here or interested in this? It’s not as if your family has truly suffered the last few years.”

Draco did his best imitation of what he imagined contrition to look like. He made sure to look her square in the eyes as he spoke. “Because, no one truly managed to avoid the fallout did they? We’re only above ground because of my parents. I’m tired of living a life where liberty is only synonymous with toeing the line to the Ministry.” He hesitated only briefly before continuing. “I want a world where we don’t have to grovel anymore, Daphne.”

                Her high heels clicked across the floor, crunching brown, dead leaves beneath them. She stood less than a few feet away from Draco. She looked up into his face searching his features for some sort of misgiving or deceit. She saw none, but that did not mean that she trusted him, far from it.

“This isn’t just about blood this time, Malfoy. Every day we lose more liberties, even those who stood against the Dark Lord, are being accused of treason or becoming a “threat’, this is about far more than just who’s blood is more pure.”

                Draco took a step forward, their feet almost touching at this point. His fingers were clasped around a piece of parchment. It was wrinkled with water stains blotting its surface. He handed it to her, as she reached for it, he grabbed her arm holding it tightly. Her eyes widened and she started to pull away but he would not release her.

“Daphne, if I was worried about just blood, I wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t be handing you this. I’m clever enough to know that in order to succeed it will take the enemy of my enemy.” He released her arm, and she immediately withdrew from him, putting several paces between them. Her hands tore open the red seal wax on the front of the paper and she briefly read its contents.

Her mind didn’t quite fathom what it had just read. Draco Malfoy was offering her access to his Gringott’s accounts.

“Use it to bribe people, pay mercenaries, whatever the cause needs. I sincerely want to help, I want to wake up to a different world one day, Daphne. A better one.”

                Daphne did not speak, she only nodded her head in assent and quickly vanished out the door. Draco felt a small twinge of guilt at his lie. He was really giving her access to his funds, and he was going along for this ride, but the final blow would inevitably come. It pained him to think that he would eventually betray a fellow Slytherin, probably more than one, but the guilt would not stop him from carrying it out.

                As he turned to leave, the familiar scurrying became prominent again. Draco glanced over his shoulder to see the same, persistent rat scramble back out from the shadows. His nose once again sniffing out the world for anything to eat. Draco’s lips parted in a small smile as he suddenly felt the irony in the moment. He, of all people, could relate to this simple creature. He dug into his pockets, his fingers noisily digging around for a piece of food. He grasped onto a few pieces of small, wrapped candies and opened one up, tossing it near the rat. Its front paws quickly snatched up the candy and he took off hurriedly back to his corner. Draco tossed the remaining candy on the floor and walked out the door, pulling his hooded cloak up over his head. After all, weren’t they all just rats fighting for survival?


End file.
